But honestly, Harbaugh barely grazed that ref with his antic... I can see it being justified as he should have been fined $20k or something- especially had this replacement protection rule been in play- but it wasn't.

Belichick literally yanked the ref while he was in a good jog. THAT could've resulted in liability for the NFL.. and that is a missing element that many are not considering. Say that happens and that replacement buckles a knee... suddenly that $300m the NFL has saved with using the replacement officials isn't exactly $300m any longer.

It's not just about "intent" and if it were malicious or not. And it's not just about making contact with an official. Right here you have a triple threat. Belichick a) breaks a mandate by the league to overly protect the officials b) TOUCHES an official and c) touches the official in a manner that could've resulted in liability/possible harm.

Honestly, I feel like Belichick could have been fined upwards of $65k for this incident. But I think the league likely took into account his previously good record/behavior towards officials in the past.
------
As an aside I think these fines were also a big/underrated part of getting the NFL back to the table. Because when guys like Belichick are operating in this kind of way and you have to fine him- a guy who usually isn't an issue... and you know incidents like this are going to just continue to happen week after week, fine after fine, you can see the rising level of emotion eventually resulting in an irreparable situation between the owners and the (players/coaches). Add in the dimension with the fans becoming more and more hostile (BMore manure chant that was sure to happen again this Thursday) and potentially embarrassing for a telecast/the league... and they were beginning to lose their leverage. The league honestly couldn't wait much longer before all of this bubbling energy really hit them hard.

EDIT: And the notion of a suspension I always felt to be absolutely ridiculous. Never thought it was suspension worthy._________________

But honestly, Harbaugh barely grazed that ref with his antic... I can see it being justified as he should have been fined $20k or something- especially had this replacement protection rule been in play- but it wasn't.

Belichick literally yanked the ref while he was in a good jog. THAT could've resulted in liability for the NFL.. and that is a missing element that many are not considering. Say that happens and that replacement buckles a knee... suddenly that $300m the NFL has saved with using the replacement officials isn't exactly $300m any longer.

It's not just about "intent" and if it were malicious or not. And it's not just about making contact with an official. Right here you have a triple threat. Belichick a) breaks a mandate by the league to overly protect the officials b) TOUCHES an official and c) touches the official in a manner that could've resulted in liability/possible harm.

Honestly, I feel like Belichick could have been fined upwards of $65k for this incident. But I think the league likely took into account his previously good record/behavior towards officials in the past.
------
As an aside I think these fines were also a big/underrated part of getting the NFL back to the table. Because when guys like Belichick are operating in this kind of way and you have to fine him- a guy who usually isn't an issue... and you know incidents like this are going to just continue to happen week after week, fine after fine, you can see the rising level of emotion eventually resulting in an irreparable situation between the owners and the (players/coaches). Add in the dimension with the fans becoming more and more hostile (BMore manure chant that was sure to happen again this Thursday) and potentially embarrassing for a telecast/the league... and they were beginning to lose their leverage. The league honestly couldn't wait much longer before all of this bubbling energy really hit them hard.

EDIT: And the notion of a suspension I always felt to be absolutely ridiculous. Never thought it was suspension worthy.

You're right...I'm surprised the ref came away from that assault and battery with his life. _________________

But honestly, Harbaugh barely grazed that ref with his antic... I can see it being justified as he should have been fined $20k or something- especially had this replacement protection rule been in play- but it wasn't.

Belichick literally yanked the ref while he was in a good jog. THAT could've resulted in liability for the NFL.. and that is a missing element that many are not considering. Say that happens and that replacement buckles a knee... suddenly that $300m the NFL has saved with using the replacement officials isn't exactly $300m any longer.

It's not just about "intent" and if it were malicious or not. And it's not just about making contact with an official. Right here you have a triple threat. Belichick a) breaks a mandate by the league to overly protect the officials b) TOUCHES an official and c) touches the official in a manner that could've resulted in liability/possible harm.

Honestly, I feel like Belichick could have been fined upwards of $65k for this incident. But I think the league likely took into account his previously good record/behavior towards officials in the past.
------
As an aside I think these fines were also a big/underrated part of getting the NFL back to the table. Because when guys like Belichick are operating in this kind of way and you have to fine him- a guy who usually isn't an issue... and you know incidents like this are going to just continue to happen week after week, fine after fine, you can see the rising level of emotion eventually resulting in an irreparable situation between the owners and the (players/coaches). Add in the dimension with the fans becoming more and more hostile (BMore manure chant that was sure to happen again this Thursday) and potentially embarrassing for a telecast/the league... and they were beginning to lose their leverage. The league honestly couldn't wait much longer before all of this bubbling energy really hit them hard.

EDIT: And the notion of a suspension I always felt to be absolutely ridiculous. Never thought it was suspension worthy.

You're right...I'm surprised the ref came away from that assault and battery with his life.

Nowhere did he say it was a malicious attack on the ref, nor anything close to "assault" or "battery". Try reading it objectively instead of instantly getting defensive and you may understand the point he was making._________________

But honestly, Harbaugh barely grazed that ref with his antic... I can see it being justified as he should have been fined $20k or something- especially had this replacement protection rule been in play- but it wasn't.

Belichick literally yanked the ref while he was in a good jog. THAT could've resulted in liability for the NFL.. and that is a missing element that many are not considering. Say that happens and that replacement buckles a knee... suddenly that $300m the NFL has saved with using the replacement officials isn't exactly $300m any longer.

It's not just about "intent" and if it were malicious or not. And it's not just about making contact with an official. Right here you have a triple threat. Belichick a) breaks a mandate by the league to overly protect the officials b) TOUCHES an official and c) touches the official in a manner that could've resulted in liability/possible harm.

Honestly, I feel like Belichick could have been fined upwards of $65k for this incident. But I think the league likely took into account his previously good record/behavior towards officials in the past.
------
As an aside I think these fines were also a big/underrated part of getting the NFL back to the table. Because when guys like Belichick are operating in this kind of way and you have to fine him- a guy who usually isn't an issue... and you know incidents like this are going to just continue to happen week after week, fine after fine, you can see the rising level of emotion eventually resulting in an irreparable situation between the owners and the (players/coaches). Add in the dimension with the fans becoming more and more hostile (BMore manure chant that was sure to happen again this Thursday) and potentially embarrassing for a telecast/the league... and they were beginning to lose their leverage. The league honestly couldn't wait much longer before all of this bubbling energy really hit them hard.

EDIT: And the notion of a suspension I always felt to be absolutely ridiculous. Never thought it was suspension worthy.

You're right...I'm surprised the ref came away from that assault and battery with his life.

Nowhere did he say it was a malicious attack on the ref, nor anything close to "assault" or "battery". Try reading it objectively instead of instantly getting defensive and you may understand the point he was making.

But honestly, Harbaugh barely grazed that ref with his antic... I can see it being justified as he should have been fined $20k or something- especially had this replacement protection rule been in play- but it wasn't.

Belichick literally yanked the ref while he was in a good jog. THAT could've resulted in liability for the NFL.. and that is a missing element that many are not considering. Say that happens and that replacement buckles a knee... suddenly that $300m the NFL has saved with using the replacement officials isn't exactly $300m any longer.

It's not just about "intent" and if it were malicious or not. And it's not just about making contact with an official. Right here you have a triple threat. Belichick a) breaks a mandate by the league to overly protect the officials b) TOUCHES an official and c) touches the official in a manner that could've resulted in liability/possible harm.

Honestly, I feel like Belichick could have been fined upwards of $65k for this incident. But I think the league likely took into account his previously good record/behavior towards officials in the past.
------
As an aside I think these fines were also a big/underrated part of getting the NFL back to the table. Because when guys like Belichick are operating in this kind of way and you have to fine him- a guy who usually isn't an issue... and you know incidents like this are going to just continue to happen week after week, fine after fine, you can see the rising level of emotion eventually resulting in an irreparable situation between the owners and the (players/coaches). Add in the dimension with the fans becoming more and more hostile (BMore manure chant that was sure to happen again this Thursday) and potentially embarrassing for a telecast/the league... and they were beginning to lose their leverage. The league honestly couldn't wait much longer before all of this bubbling energy really hit them hard.

EDIT: And the notion of a suspension I always felt to be absolutely ridiculous. Never thought it was suspension worthy.

You're right...I'm surprised the ref came away from that assault and battery with his life.

Nowhere did he say it was a malicious attack on the ref, nor anything close to "assault" or "battery". Try reading it objectively instead of instantly getting defensive and you may understand the point he was making.

Somebody's sarcasm detector is broken

....reading your comment with a fully-functioning sarcasm detector with all available upgrades, patches and bug fixes (of course) would lead one to believe you are being dismissive of DB's comments. One would need an upgraded model to catch your double-sarcasm. Stating that you're surprised the official came away with his life, but really being dismissive of DB's comments, but REALLY mocking those that would be dismissive of DB's comments. come on man._________________